Abbas on way to Washington for Bush meeting

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas headed to Washington today with a long list of demands for the US president, though privately Palestinian officials said they don’t expect much from George Bush and some even questioned the wisdom of making the trip at all.

In the end, the prestige of a White House invitation and the chance to air grievances outweighed the misgivings. The Palestinian leader, meeting Bush for the first time since being elected in January, is expected to seek assurances from him on curtailing Israeli settlement activity, progress on a Palestinian state and the meaning of Israel’s Gaza pullout this summer.

“We will lay down our fears and anxieties … and express the really urgent need of American support,” said Deputy Prime Minister Nabil Shaath.

Abbas, widely known as Abu Mazen, flew to Washington via Jordan. He meets with Bush on Thursday, the first time a US president meets a Palestinian president since the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence in 2000. During his three-day trip to the US capital, Abbas will also speak to Congressmen, Jewish and Arab-American leaders, and senior government officials.

Just before boarding a Jordanian helicopter, Abbas said he would ask the US to push ahead with the internationally backed road map peace plan, which calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“When I talk about political demands I mean the road map,” he said.

Many hope Israel’s plan to withdraw this summer from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements will jump-start peace talks that have been stalled due to nearly five years of fighting.

Palestinians fear Israel will use the Gaza withdrawal as an excuse to strengthen its hold on the West Bank, said Rafiq Husseini, Abbas’ chief of staff. “The president (Abbas) wants assurances that the Gaza pullout will not be Gaza first and last,” Husseini said.

Urging his people to end their violent uprising against Israel, Abbas was elected in January – after the November death of Yasser Arafat – on promises he would bring security, reform and an easing of the harsh burdens of Israeli occupation. But Abbas has yet to deliver on his promises.

White House support could bolster the Palestinian position in peace talks, and more immediately, strengthen Abbas’ stature ahead of a crucial parliamentary election set for mid-July.

Hamas, a militant group sworn to the destruction of Israel, is challenging Abbas’ Fatah movement in the July 17 vote and is gaining support among Palestinians. Tired of corruption and deadlock on the path to independence, Palestinians brought Hamas to power in a third of the municipalities up for grabs in recent elections. The militants are expected to make a strong showing in parliamentary balloting scheduled for July.

The US and Israel have called on Abbas to disarm Hamas and other militant groups, a key Palestinian obligation under the road map. Abbas has refused to do so, citing fears of civil war.

Instead, Abbas negotiated a truce with the militants three months ago, but Hamas is threatening to back out of the deal, accusing the Palestinian leader of working to delay the parliamentary vote out of fears Fatah will not fare well.

Abbas’ refusal to crush the militants is one of the main reasons the US has been reluctant to give the Palestinians full financial and political support.

“Abu Mazen wants to see … our streets without armed people and he is taking actions towards that. But it cannot happen in one day or one afternoon,” Husseini said.

Abbas will have a difficult time persuading Washington that co-opting militants is a legitimate means of ending violence, said Khalil Shikaki, a Palestinian political analyst.

“Abbas’ ability to convince the Americans of what he wants is weak, and his ability to get what he wants is also weak,” Shikaki said.

The US is in a quandary, Shikaki said. It wants Abbas to take firm action against militant groups, but at the same time wants to ensure that Abbas receives the necessary US support to prevent a Hamas victory in the upcoming election.

A Hamas victory could torpedo the planned Gaza withdrawal and trigger another round of bloodshed.

In his talks with Bush, Abbas is also expected to demand intensified US pressure on Israel to freeze Jewish settlement expansion in the West Bank, a key Israeli obligation under the road map.

Abbas is deeply concerned about an Israeli plan to build more than 3,500 new homes in Maaleh Adumim, the West Bank’s largest settlement. The construction, if completed, would link the settlement to traditionally Arab east Jerusalem - cutting it off from the rest of the West Bank – and in effect destroying Palestinian dreams of making the city the capital of a future state.

Bush publicly criticised the Maaleh Adumim construction plan during a news conference with Sharon last month. But the Israeli leader vowed to push ahead, saying it is in line with an Israeli plan to hold onto chunks of the West Bank. Abbas is sure to raise the issue with Bush.

To ensure a smooth takeover of the Gaza Strip after the pullout, the Palestinians are seeking US aid to help boost their ailing economy and rehabilitate their run-down security forces.

This year, the US Congress approved an additional €158m in Palestinian aid, on top of €60m approved earlier.

The initiative was passed after Bush, in his February State of the Union address, said he would ask Congress to support Palestinian political, economic and security reforms. But the Palestinians complain the fine print in the aid package puts unnecessary restrictions on their use of the money.

“The aid is not really coming forth,” Shaath said. “The signals from Congress about aid are laden with restrictions and preconditions and do not reflect the kind of open American support we need to get through these difficult times.”